


I'll Wait With You

by abigailmaedy



Series: The Snags [6]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Amy comforts Jake, Drinking, Drunk Dancing, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Jake is just a bundle of insecurities, Shaw's bar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 19:56:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7654585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abigailmaedy/pseuds/abigailmaedy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During Jake and Amy's second year working together, Jake's dad calls saying he's coming to town. But, when Roger predictably never shows, Amy must be there for Jake as he deals with the disappointment of being let down and the frustration he has with himself for always letting his dad get to him. Drunk Jake comforted by drunk Amy. Rated Mature for alcohol purposes. </p><p>Following Of Laundry Bins and Cold Beers, this is a prequel in my series The Snags, which is probably written more out-of-order than anything should ever be. It's complete, and this piece can be read as a stand-alone or as part of the rest of The Snags series. In this series, Amy's anxiety sometimes leads her to go on uncontrollable cleaning binges, which Jake calls "wind ups".</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Wait With You

       Jake and Amy had been working together for two years when she first had to make good on her end of their bargain. Jake was still coming in late every day, but the difference between a half hour and five minutes was stark, and after realizing physically forcing him to walk in with her wasn’t going to work, she started taking stealthy photos of the squad and sending them to Jake. A few minutes later, the elevator doors would open to their floor and he’d stroll in like it was nothing. This was the process, and it worked without a hitch, until Jake’s dad came into town.

       It was late on a Friday and the squad was drinking at Shaw’s, when Jake’s phone began to chime. Amy, who was in a pathetic game of darts with Jake (it was hard to tell who was actually losing as neither of them were hitting the board), tossed back her third drink and chucked another dart, groaning when it spiraled, bounced off the wall, and fell to the floor. Gina was clapping from her spot at a table behind her. “That was beautiful.” She drawled, clapping again. 

       Jake’s phone was still blaring when Amy glared at Gina and then turned to Jake, who was smiling goofily and leaning against the bar. “Your phone’s ringing, Jake.” Amy pointed, his pocket lit up by the thing. 

       Jake fumbled for it and flipped it open. “Hellooooo?” He chuckled. Amy rolled her eyes and sat down beside Gina, eyeing the Jukebox as she did so.

       “Hey.” She practically yelled at Gina, who sneered in discomfort and backed up in her chair. “We should dance.” 

       “Um, you are not physically or emotionally  _ prepared  _ to dance with me.” Gina snapped. “I am on another level of flow from you.”        

       “Excuse me?” Amy leaned back, mimicking Gina. “I am  _ Cuban,  _ I can dance!” She rose to her feet, unaware and uncaring that Gina wasn’t following her, and picked a song from the vintage machine, grinning when the first fast beat crossed her path. She started to shake her hips and move her arms wildly over head. 

       “Get it girl!” Charles yelled, getting up to join her. “Rosa! Dance with us!” Jake called to the other detective, who sat with her arms crossed. 

       “I am.” She said, pointing to her bouncing knee with an almost invisibly small smile.        

       “Right. Of course you are!” Charles chimed back, turning to Amy again and dancing almost as spastically as the three-drink-drunk detective. Jake, who was still standing beside the bar, was no longer relaxed, his back rigid as he concluded his call and stuck his phone back into his pocket, pinching the bridge of his nose. Amy watched, hips still shaking but arms falling to her sides. “Hey, what’s wrong? Not feeling it anymore? I know another great song-”

       Amy ignored Charles, who didn’t seem to mind and kept dancing, walking back to Jake. “Hey.” She smiled, “Are you okay?” 

       Jake grinned too widely at her and nodded. “Yeah! My dad is in town. He said he was gonna stop by.” He shrugged. 

       “Here?” Amy looked around at the detectives, who were all experiencing a different level of drunkenness. She knew she wasn’t much better, and looked back up at Jake. 

       “That’s what he said.” Amy watched the smile meet up to Jake’s eyes as excitement hit him. It hadn’t occurred to Amy, who had only really talked to Jake about his father once, that he would do anything but hate that man who walked out on him, because she certainly already did.

       “Are you gonna tell the others?” Amy asked. 

       Jake peered around. “Uh… Let’s not, just in case something happens, you know? He’s coming in from out of town and he might get tired. He might go straight to a hotel, or…” 

       Amy nodded. “Okay, well I’ll wait with you.” She pointed to the blue dart in his hand. “It’s your turn.”  _ Jake, your vulnerability is showing.  _

__________________________________________

       Terry left first, followed by Charles and Rosa. Gina left with a guy after taking a photo of his driver’s license and texting it to Jake, who argued that his Razr only received photos half the time, but gave her the thumbs-up when it went through. Scully and Hitchcock, who Amy honestly hadn’t even realize were there, left together shortly after. Amy sat with Jake at a circular booth, the clock reading near two. Jake sighed. “You don’t have to wait. If you work tomorrow-” 

       “Jake, it’s okay. I’m off tomorrow, and I said I’d stay.” She gave him an encouraging smile and his shoulders relaxed. 

       “Thanks, Santiago.” He smiled back. “So, you haven’t had a wind up in a while.” He leaned back against the booth and her stomach knotted. “Eight months, right?”

       Amy’s face grew warm and she twisted her fingers together beneath the table. “I didn’t know you were counting.”  

       “It’s pretty easy to keep track when my house gets grosser the happier you are.” He smirked and she couldn’t help but laugh.        

       Amy hadn’t found herself at Jake’s since January of that year, when she had failed to find the driver responsible for a hit and run that had killed a forty-eight year old man. Despite help from other members of the squad and working furiously to find the killer, the case went cold before it was solved. When she had to tell the man’s wife that they didn’t have any new leads to follow, she was hounded by the woman for failing her husband and being “a poor excuse for a cop”, and Amy had, in predictable Amy fashion, held herself together until it was time to go home. Then, she went to Jake’s, where he was expecting her, and dove into making his apartment spotless until she tired out. “You should really do your laundry more.” She smiled. 

       “I keep it like that just for you.” He teased, pulling out his phone and checking the time with a sigh. “Maybe I should call him.”

       “What’s the worst that can happen?” Amy shrugged, her stomach clenching.

       Jake didn’t answer, only dialling his dad’s number and keeping his eyes locked on the table. After a few seconds, he perked up. “Hey, Dad! You still coming to Shaw’s-” Jake’s face fell and he took a breath, trying for indifference. Amy winced at the pained expression. “Oh. Right.” Jake glanced at Amy and they both smiled reassuringly at each other. “I totally get it, long hours! Yeah, really. No hard feelings. Maybe tomorrow, we can- Oh. Okay, well next time you’re around. Okay, dad. I love you, too. Have a safe flight. Bye.” Jake closed the phone and took a deep breath. “Well, he’s not coming.” He shrugged. “It’s okay though. He was just tired, you know? I’ll see him again.” Jake’s grin took up too much of his face. 

       “I’m sorry he didn’t call and tell you.” Amy reached for Jake’s hand and he pulled away, sliding out of the booth. 

       “I’m really fine.” He smiled. “I’m just gonna…” He stared towards the exit. “I’ll just see you at the precinct tomorrow.”

       “I don’t work tomorrow, Jake, remember?” Amy put a hand on his shoulder before he could shrug away. “Are you going to be okay?” 

       Jake made an incredulous noise and shrugged. “Yeah.” He scoffed. “Of course. It’ll be fine. I’m sure I’ll have a case, It’s a Saturday.” 

       “That’s not what I meant.” Amy guided Jake to the bar where they paid their tabs before heading outside. Jake didn’t say a word until they were out on the sidewalk.  

       It was an unusually cold night for September and Amy pulled her jacket tight around her shoulders, hugging her arms to her chest. “I think I’m just gonna walk home.” Jake finally said. 

       Amy raised a brow. “It’s freezing.” 

       “Yeah, but I just…” Jake shrugged. “I want to remember. I’ll see you Monday.” 

       Amy watched him go with a frown, hailing the fourth cab to pass and riding past Jake towards her home. His face was steeled as he walked. 

_______________________________________

       Amy loved her job, and she loved being productive. But, when it was her day off, she refused to be out of bed before seven (which, for her, was late) unless it was an emergency. Which, she reasoned, this kind of was. She’d sent Jake a text when she’d gotten home the night before, telling him to call her in the morning if he needed anything. When her alarm went off at its standard time, she had to fight the urge to chuck it at a wall and roll over, only remembering with a glance at it that she had something important to do. 

       The neighborhood around the precinct always felt a little different on the weekends, like going to your school during summer. There were different people out on the streets, different cops going in and out of the building, and even the air felt odd. Amy paid her cab fare and walked from the front of the station to the block around the corner where Amy knew Jake parked while he gathered the courage to go to work. He was sitting in his car, the engine still on and his head on the steering wheel when she pulled open the passenger seat and sat down. Jake startled, looking up at her with a frown. “I thought you didn’t work today.”        

       “I don’t,” She shrugged. “But you do. Your shift started twenty minutes ago.” 

       Jake sighed. “I’m trying, Ames.” He gripped the steering wheel and reached for the keys, then stopped. “It’s not like McGintley cares.” 

       “You care.” Amy reached for his keys and pulled them out of the ignition, sighing at his wide eyes and dodging his attempts to take them back. “Jake, everyone is going to be in there, I promise.” 

       “I know that! I know  _ objectively  _ that they’ll be in there.” He sighed. “Amy, am I a dick?” 

       “Maybe?” She shrugged, scrunching her nose. “But only on the outside. You really care about everyone, and I think that’s obvious.”        

       “I told Charles about my dad leaving when I was little, and he said ‘That makes sense.’” Jake threw up finger quotes. “I’m so fucked up it’s like a puzzle piece falls into place when I tell people why. I push people away even though it’s like the worst thing  _ ever  _ when they go.” 

       “You know that nobody at the nine-nine is going to leave because of you, right?” Jake shrugged and Amy shook her head. “No really, Jake. You’re a good cop and you care about your work, and we appreciate you.” Amy paused. “ Well, except with the written reports, which are horrific. I mean- sorry.”        

       Jake smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, Santiago.” 

       Amy grinned, giving a half-shoulder shrug. “It’s what I do.” 

       “Did you really wake up just to come see me?” Jake asked. “Because I don’t know if I’d get up this early for anything but work.”  

       Amy sighed. “Last night before you left Shaw’s, you said you needed ‘to remember’ and I thought about how the last time your dad probably forgot you somewhere, it was the pizza place when you were little. I just didn’t want you to get up in the morning and still feel like you were all alone. And, even though most of the time you’re the biggest pain in my ass, you’re also my friend.”

       Jake reached into his back seat with a smile and grabbed his work bag. “You’re a pain in my ass, too.” He said endearingly, earning a chuckle from Amy, who handed him back his keys and exited the car along with him. “Thanks for coming. And, uh…” 

       “What is it?” Amy raised a brow. 

       “My dad’s flight got cancelled and he wants to meet for dinner…” Jake looked down at his feet and Amy’s eyes widened. 

       “Oh. I can wait with you.” She said, offering a reassuring grin.        

       Jake was sheepish, and shrugged. “I mean, you know, whatever. But, yeah,” He smiled and walked up to the curb. “That would be cool.”

       “Text me the deets.” Amy said, earning an eye-roll from Jake, who began to back towards the precinct. 

       “Nobody says ‘deets’ anymore, Amy.” He laughed, turning and heading down the block. 

       “Well they should!” She called, watching him round the corner. She smiled, heading home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Boy, am I obsessed with writing this series. I can now understand why TV writers will sometimes let a show go on for too many seasons. Anyway, I wanted to balance out my piece on Amy's anxiety with a piece on Jake's, because drawing parallels between those characters is very important. As always, I don't do as much editing as I should before I post, so PLEASE feel free to point out errors in spelling, grammar, and continuity. I would love to improve my work. Also, I'm taking suggestions for a series of one shots I'd like to start so I don't accidentally drive The Snags into the ground, so if there's something you'd like to see, put it in the comments. 
> 
> Finally, how are you doing, follower? Taking care of yourself? Let me know!


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